Posted by yxibow on July 7, 2008, at 4:04:40
In reply to Remeron Appetite, Weight Gain - Dose and Duration., posted by fachad on July 6, 2008, at 12:04:53
> My questions have to do with the notorious effect of Remeron on appetite and weight gain. I know it's said that the hunger/sleepiness is less with 'higher' doses.
Its said but at least from my doctor's clinical experience its untrue. Now another population of people could have a different response, who knows.
> In other's experience of this med, where is the dose cut-off? How much do you have to take to feel less hungry? Is 30 mg/day enough, or are higher doses needed to avoid the bottomless pit hunger? Do you feel less hungry at 30 mg than at 15 mg?I took it up to 52.5 and there was no point at which hunger changed particularly.
> Another big question I have is, do the hunger and the weight gain level off after time (say 3 months or 6 months or 2 years or whatever) OR do you just always feel really hungry as long as you take it and does your weight just keep going up and up?No, it didn't level off over time. Your weight goes up partially if you don't curb your intake. Accounting for any weight gain the medication might give, I think its mostly hunger, but others may have different metabolisms, one should roughly add up how many calories they're ingesting in a day.
If you can cut back down below that range as much as possible, you will lose weight. Your weight almost always, unless you have some other condition, is maintained by the amount of calories you are eating. E.g., a 225lb male eating 2800 calories a day [that's a pure rough example off the top of my head, you should check BMI and other charts] for example could maintain their weight at that without doing anything (although of course exercise is important). If you dip below that "maintenance weight", water will lose first and eventually fat, just like any diet.
> And finally, if you quit Remeron (another topic, I realize), does the weight come off by itself - or at least easier than if it were regular (not drug caused) weight?Yes, slowly over time it does. The speed of that again is determined by exercise, metabolism, any metabolic disorders and self-will and self-restraint (no offense meant)
> Remeron is a good antidepressent and it might be acceptable (tho' undesirable) to gain some weight and feel some hunger IF I thought that I would develop some tolerance to those effects over time. But I don't want to just be eating and gaining for years and years if the effects are known to continute as long as you take the drug.
It is a very good antidepressant for those who have tried others. It has that ONE big problem of weight gain. Determination, exercise, padlocking the refrigerator (just kidding -- but seriously, a low calorie diet is going to be needed, carbohydrates, fat, whatever.)
> Anybody have experience in this area? Often it seems like people just quit Remeron right away becasue of the weight thing, and so there is nobody with long term experience to say whether it goes away or diminishes with time.It is true ultimately I quit Remeron because of serious weight gain. But at the time I wasn't monitoring and I know its hard to have self-restraint, with medications like Seroquel, tricyclics, etc.
It served an odd but very much desired puzzle into my complex of disorders at the time (which still continue in other ways) and was discovered by accident because I couldn't sleep.
So, if this disappoints you I do apologize -- its just one case report. Really everything should be taken as case reports on here, but that's just a personal opinion.Remember everybody has a different metabolism -- I don't have the same one I had in college, like a lot of males. On the other hand there are people who are waifs way into their 30s and 40s and beyond. Its something that depends a lot on genetics and also not noticing little increments in what one eats until one is used to 2 bowls of cereal, 3 bowls, etc, just for example (mea culpa).
I wish you well-- Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:838370
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080706/msgs/838562.html